The weirdest, best skincare tool I’ve ever tried

It’s one of those products you suddenly think you need even though you don’t totally get what it is. It’s promise has a hiding-in-plain-sight simplicity that makes you wonder why you didn’t invent it yourself. It’s weird looking.

This particular thing is a cleansing tool by a company called Konjac Sponge, and it is, as the name suggests, a sponge made of fibers from the konjac plant, which of course I had to google, and which people apparently eat to suppress their appetites (please do not do this). It’s a skincare cult hit in parts of Asia and the U.K., costs 9 bucks and comes rock hard in a plastic bag promising to gently exfoliate (with or without a cleanser), hydrate and pH balance your skin.